Watch the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano in slow motion 0:57
(CNN Spanish) -
The volcanoes of the Earth are in constant activity.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that there are about 1,500 active volcanoes around the world.
Statistics from the Smithsonian Institution, through the Global Volcanism Program, show that, right now, there are 50 volcanoes on the planet that are erupting;
In other words, they are in an eruptive period that began in the past and continues to the present day (or at least until August 19, 2021, which is the most recent date of the Institute).
Regarding the above, a curious fact: eruptions can last for days, months, years, decades and even centuries.
The Global Volcanism Program notes that, since 1750, there have been 101 eruptions lasting 5 years or more.
The most prominent example in this area is Mount Yasur, a volcano located in Vanuatu: it has been in eruption for 247 years, since its eruptive period began in 1774 and was still there until August 19 of this year.
(An eruptive period is equal to an eruption and in it there may be multiple eruption events. In one of these periods, it is possible to record a high in eruptive activity. If this high lasts less than three months, the same period is still considered. However, if the activity that lasts more than three months is stopped, the eruptive period and, therefore, the eruption that was in progress is ended. If the activity is restarted after three months, it is counted as a different rash.)
From film: the most shocking videos of the volcano eruption in Spain
And just as there are volcanoes with continuous activity, there are also those with the most significant activity in the world.
This refers, according to the Global Volcanism Program, to volcanoes that meet at least one of the following five criteria:
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Major Eruption
: An eruption within the Holocene with a Volcanic Explosive Index (VEI) greater than five, on a scale where the maximum is eight.
"Holocene" refers to volcanoes that have been recorded in the time of history called "Holocene", spanning from 10,000 years ago to the present.
Multiple large eruptions
: more than one eruption within the Holocene with VEI greater than or equal to five.
High mortality
eruption - A single eruption that caused more or exactly 100 fatalities.
Frequently Active
: Volcanoes that have been confirmed to have erupted 25 years in the last 100 years (counted from 1920).
This can be a single eruptive period of 25 years or several that add up to 25 years, but it has to be from 1920 to date.
Significant lava emission
: it was documented that the volcano produced a total volume of lava greater than 1 cubic kilometer in the last 2,000 years.
In total, 187 volcanoes have met at least one of these five criteria.
There are some that meet only one or two criteria.
For our list, volcanoes that met three or more criteria were taken into account, and within these one had to be
frequently active
to consider those with more recent activity.
Concerns advance of the lava from Cumbre Vieja towards the sea 1:33
Therefore, the result was a list with the eight volcanoes with the highest activity on the planet.
We present it below.
The 8 most active volcanoes in the world
Vesubio mont
Location: Italy
Why it's on this list: meets criteria 2, 3, and 4
Elevation: 1,281 meters
Last known eruption: the most recent eruptive period took place from July 5, 1913 to April 4, 1944
Etna
Location: Italy
Why it's on this list: meets criteria 2, 4, and 5
Elevation: 3,320 meters
Last known eruption: the most recent eruptive period began on September 3, 2013 and continued on August 19, 2021
Rabaul
Location: Papua New Guinea
Why it's on this list: meets criteria 1, 3, and 4
Elevation: 688 meters
Last known eruption: most recent eruptive period spanned from July 7, 2014 to September 18, 2014
Krakatoa
Location: Indonesia
Why it's on this list: meets criteria 1, 3, and 4
Elevation: 155 meters
Last known eruption: the most recent eruptive period occurred from June 18, 2018 to April 17, 2020
Caldera Aira
Location: Japan
Why is it on this list: it meets all five criteria (it is the only one of the 187 volcanoes with these characteristics)
Elevation: 1,117 meters
Last known eruption: the most recent eruptive period began on March 25, 2017 and continued until August 19, 2021
Kīlauea
Location: United States (Hawaii)
Why it's on this list: meets criteria 3, 4, and 5
Elevation: 1,222 meters
Last known eruption: most recent eruptive period was from December 20, 2020 to May 23, 2021
Santa Maria
Location: Guatemala
Why is it on this list: You meet criteria 1, 3, 4, and 5
Elevation: 3,745 meters
Last known eruption: most recent eruptive period runs from June 22, 1922 to the present (continued until August 19, 2021)
Masaya
Location: Nicaragua
Why it's on this list: meets criteria 1, 2, and 4
Elevation: 594 meters
Last known eruption: the most recent eruptive period began on October 3, 2015 and was still continuing on August 16, 2021
Volcanoes
